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Mac OS X - PPTP


Here you can find setup information for your chosen VPN and also how to fix any problems you might encounter.

You can use the Table of Contents on the right hand side of this window to navigate between the different sections.


Install Guide


Step 1
Retrieve the Server Address for the VPN you want to connect to, you will need this later:




Step 2
Retrieve your VPN username and password, if you are a new member this is contained in the StreamVia Account Information email you received after ordering.




Step 3
Click the Apple logo in the top-left hand corner of your screen, and select System Preferences




Step 4
Click Network from the Internet & Wireless section




Step 5
Click the + sign in the bottom-left hand corner of the window




Step 6
Configure the drop-down menus as below:

  • Interface: VPN
  • VPN Type: PPTP
  • Service Name: A friendly name for your VPN, configure it to something appropriate i.e. StreamVia - UK




Step 7
Configure as follows, then click Authentication Settings

  • Server Address: Enter the Server Address of the VPN server chosen in Step 1
  • Account Name: This is your VPN username, i.e. your full email address
  • Encryption: Automatic




Step 8
Configure as follows, then click OK

  • Password: Enter your VPN password in the box, this can be found in the StreamVia Account Information email it is case sensitive so please copy and paste





Step 9
Enable Show VPN status in menu bar then click Advanced…




Step 10
Enable Send all traffic over VPN connection, then click OK




Step 11
Click Apply, when it is greyed-out the settings have been applied




Step 12
Click Connect




Step 13
Once connected the window will show Status: Connected






Problems

Authentication Failed

The username and/or password is wrong, the VPN password is separate to the Client Area password you use on the StreamVia.com website - so it may not be the same.

The VPN password is randomly generated by default and is case sensitive, please make sure you copy and paste to reduce the chance of error as it is sometimes easy to confuse letters/numbers etc.

  1. Retrieve your VPN password from the Client Area
    • Sign into the Client Area
    • Click My Services, from the My StreamVia menu on the right hand side
    • Click View Details next to the service
    • Please copy and paste the password, it is case sensitive
  2. Update the password stored on your computer


PPTP-VPN Server did not respond

Something local to your computer/router/ISP is blocking the VPN. Please try with OpenVPN or L2TP, or see below for potential causes.

A common problem is that your router does not have VPN Passthrough or PPTP Passthrough enabled, there should be a setting in your routers administration panel. Please also try powering off and on your router.

If not resolved after verifying the above please try disabling any security or firewall software you are running, just as Norton, ZoneAlarm, BlackIce, AVG, etc.


A connect could not be established to the PPP server

Please make sure Encryption is set to Automatic




Other Information

Poor Performance

We ensure our servers are NEVER overloaded, so this is not the issue if you are receiving poor performance; please get this out of your mind now ;-)

Your network, your ISP and their network have as much an impact on the speed you will receive as we do. Some of you will be connecting to a VPN server half way around the world, so degradation along the way is inevitable.


Quick tips

  • Experiment with Location 1, Location 2 (Site 1, Site 2) etc connections
  • Experiment with OpenVPN or L2TP
  • Use a network cable not wireless/wi-fi, this can often make the biggest difference.
  • Reboot router/computer
  • Clear all browser cookies/history/cache
  • If you are a VPN All or VPN UK & USA member and are using StreamVia to access streaming TV/video, please try SmartStream instead.



Location 1, Location 2 (Site 1, Site 2) etc
Each different VPN Site is a separate VPN location, you should experiment to see which works best for you. There may be a massive difference, some difference or no difference for you in speed. But you should experiment to see ;)


OpenVPN or L2TP etc
Try a different type of VPN, such as OpenVPN or L2TP.


Browser cache/cookies
Always clear your browser cache/cookies/history after connecting VPN, you need to reset the browser for your change in location. Failure to do so can result in poor performance.


Wi-fi vs wired ethernet
Using a wired connection instead of wireless often has the biggest impact on speed. The best speed and reliability with always be seen when using a network cable rather than wireless, wireless networks cause latency which causes the speed to drop. If you are having speed issues, please try with a network cable rather than wireless.


Your broadband
Just because you have XYZ speed broadband, does not mean you should expect this speed over a VPN. All networks deteriorate in speed the further away you are, so whilst someone connecting in the UK or a country close by will be able to achieve close to maximum speed to a UK server, those in Australia will not.

Also, if you or someone else is heavily using the broadband connection (even if not over the VPN) then you will notice a performance drop. For best performance ensure others are not downloading/streaming on the same connection as you.


Reboot everything
Try restarting both your computer and your broadband router, sometimes this can work wonders!


Alternative DNS
For best performance - especially from China, UAE etc - we recommend that you configure alternative DNS servers on your computer, as some countries will filter DNS which can cause problems for your connection ie inability to connect at all, or unstable connections with frequent disconnects. You need to configure these on your wireless or ethernet adapter - ie the physical network interface you use to connect to your network - details are contained in the below links:


Website Does Not Work

This is usually a fairly easy fix and is usually caused by stale cookies/cache/history within your web browser.

Step 1
Connect the VPN


Step 2
Clear all cookies/cache/history from your browser


Step 3
Close all open browser windows, ie close Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc, completely


Step 4
Re-launch the required browser program, we strongly recommend using Firefox for best speeds


Step 5
Verify that the VPN is working, by visting DisplayMyHostname.com ensuring that you no longer see your ISP's hostname. If you do still see your ISP's hostname, this article will not fix your problem. Please contact StreamVia Support - including your operating system version - advising that the DisplayMyHostname check failed.


Step 6
Attempt to view your desired site again.



Share VPN to another device


The below steps will show you how to share the VPN to another device, to do this you require a computer with 2 network ports - either 2 cabled network ports or 1 wireless and 1 cabled network port. If you are using the latter, 1 wireless and 1 cabled network port, please connect the computer to the internet via wireless and use the cabled port to connect to the games console, TV, etc.


Step 1
First verify PPTP connects and works correctly on your computer, if not you need to fix this problem first. Leave the other device that you will be sharing the VPN to powered off and disconnected from the network.


Step 2
Click Apple icon, top left, then System Preferences




Step 3
Click Sharing




Step 4
Select but do not enable Internet Sharing, set Share your connection from: and choose the name of your PPTP connection, then set To computers using the ethernet/cabled network port you will connect your other device to.




Step 5
Now enable the Internet Sharing option by putting a tick in the box on the left-hand side. If you see a screen like the below click Start




Step 6
You should now see Internet Sharing: On and the green light




Step 9
Make sure PPTP VPN is connected on the computer, then connect the device you wish to share the VPN to to the computers cabled network port, then power on the other device. Verify in the network settings of your external device that it receives an IP address from your computer, if it does not please power off the external device and restart the computer before trying again.



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